ABSTRACT
Biofilm can be referred to as the self-immobilization of microbial cells that are irreversibly associated with a matrix of extracellular polymers in environmental niches. In contrast to free cells, the biofilm-associated microorganisms are profoundly different with respect to gene transcription and growth patterns. Unfortunately, biofilm development led to an increased confrontation with antimicrobial compounds and antibiotics. Therefore, the discovery and identification of new antibacterial agents with unique action mechanisms are urgently needed for the regulation of biofilm formation. Medicinal plants have received incredible interest as a promising alternative to overcome these global problems of multidrug or antimicrobial irresponsiveness, and infectious diseases. The presence of a vast number of compounds in plant extracts and natural products including tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, and essential oils possesses pronounced antimicrobial, defensive, and chemopreventive activities, which could be speculated as likely substitutes of synthetic chemicals for the suppression of biofilm-forming bacterial growth. In this chapter, we present a recent and up-to-date overview of plant-derived bioactive agents with explicit mechanisms of actions to suppress bacterial biofilm development. The techniques currently used for the isolation and identification of natural antibiofilm compounds are also discussed. It is not unsurprising to demonstrate that the newly identified natural bioactive agents are attractive alternatives with broad-spectrum potentialities for the mitigation of biofilm-associated infectious diseases.
